The present invention relates to telecommunications networks and, in particular, to turnkey systems for operating and managing a telecommunications network.
With the development of a global economy, business people who regularly travel internationally are a fast growing breed. To meet the needs of business travelers and others, satellite-based global telecommunications networks are being developed. The first such network is to be commercially activated by Iridium, LLC on Nov. 1, 1998. The network is called xe2x80x9cIridiumxe2x80x9d. Iridium is a satellite-based, wireless personal communications network designed to permit any type of telephone transmission (e.g., voice, paging, facsimile or data) to reach its destination anywhere on earth. The Iridium system includes a constellation of 66-satellites each weighing approximately 689 kilograms (1500 pounds). The satellites will orbit above the Earth at an altitude of 780 kilometers (485 statute miles). Unlike geostationary communication satellites, which are located 41,300 kilometers (25,680 statute miles) above the Earth, the low Earth orbit of the Iridium satellites, as well as recent advances in microelectronics, make it possible to provide worldwide cellular telephone coverage via handheld phones.
The network is designed to simplify communications for business professionals, travelers, residents of rural or undeveloped areas, disaster relief teams, and other users who need the features and convenience of wireless, handheld phones with worldwide reach. The network will require numerous entities in many different countries to work together. Such entities involve governments, service. providers, industry clearinghouses, and others.
Gateways have been set up. to provide Iridium type services within national or regional boundaries. Gateways interconnect the satellite constellation with public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), making communication possible between network cellular phones and any other telephone in the world. Gateway operators provide service activation, customer support, payment and settlement processing, service provider management, usage collection, and retail rating.
Service providers and Roaming Partners provide retail telecommunications services from the Gateway to end users. The Service Providers and Roaming Partners require access to data stored at the Gateway relative to customers of the Service Provider. However, there is a further need for a method and system for allowing each Service Provider to access only those files stored at the Gateway that relate to the customers of the Service Provider, not those of other Service Providers.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a baseline set of tools and processes to enable a Service Provider to sell Iridium type service. Specifically, there is a need for an integrated tool set designed to allow Service Providers and Roaming Partners access to a shared data set on a secure basis.
The need in the art is addressed by the system and method of the present invention for providing service activation capability from Service Providers to end-customers in a global Iridium type telecommunications system. The inventive method includes the steps of utilizing a browser to download a program and executing the program to provide for service provisioning.
In the illustrative embodiment, the browser is a Web browser, the program is a Java application and the inventive method further includes the steps of providing service activation, suspension, reactivation and deactivation. Telephony services are provisioned along with paging and roaming. Capcode generation, allocation and ordering are also supported along with tracking and maintenance of capcode status.